Dominated!!

"I have travelled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such high calibre, that i do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation which is her spiritual and cultural heritage and therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater that their own, they will lose their self esteem, their native culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation"

Lord Macualays address to the British Parliament 2.2.1835

This is something i saw written in the pamplet of the hotel I recently stayed, (in Yercaud) which happens to be a set of British Villas. It was a means of advertising India to the Foreigners but to me it seemed like an outright assault on our way of life today.

Reading this gave me a sense of how much we, as a country, have changed over two centuries and how Lord Macaulay and the other British Generals who ruled our country really had the last laugh after all.

Despite so many years of Independance, we still aren't truly out of the "dominated" category. The fancy for everything foreign has left us with the least regard to our own past.

While there are a few who condemn the culture damage only in terms of dresses women wear and the language used but would happily use so many MNC products that have flooded the markets, learn technology developed abroad not to mention earn a lot of money thru foreign influence. If we are to embrace culture, it has to be a wholesome one, the economic advantage that comes from international interaction comes with automatic awe for western worlds. The British rule, that we learnt about in our history textbooks for years together, had much more of a profound effect than is obvious. And there are others who struggle against the corrupt and unjust administration here, where development hardly happens which is one detrimental factor and motivational factor to look outside the country...

My heart cries out ... What happened to all that was displayed to Lord Macaulay? Where is that kind of a nation that created such a impression? If the British happened to break our backbone, it was possible only because we let it be weak enough to be broken... And all this has happened only because something called value has been reduced to mere coins and notes.